When the walls shrink and the panic sets in, Specialist Mike Ballard reaches for his service dog, Apollo, to help him get through his worst symptoms of the post-traumatic stress disorder that is a remnant of an explosion in Afghanistan that ended his career as an Army medic.
"The room starts to breathe in and out. You get really dizzy and instantly sick to your stomach," Ballard said, describing his worst symptoms. Apollo, a 2-year-old short-haired collie, is always near Ballard, so that when an episode begins, "I can just sit there with him and pet him."
"It starts lowering my blood pressure and I get more focused simply petting his fur," he said. "There was a point when I had to see my psychiatrist at least once a week, and now with Apollo, the anxiety level has come down so much she's only on an as-needed basis."
Ballard, 41, was just a few months into a tour in Afghanistan in August 2009 when the Stryker in which he was riding rolled over the top of a roadside bomb. The explosion broke the medic's right femur and destroyed his left knee. He had emergency surgery in Kandahar before being flown back to the United States, and is now a part of the Warrior Transition Battalion at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, which helps injured soldiers recover from their physical and emotional injuries from war.
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Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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